BlackBerry Maker
Is Emboldened
By Patent Office

By

Elena Cherney and

Stuart Weinberg Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Updated Dec. 17, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

Buoyed by a patent-office ruling, BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. appears to be gearing up for a court showdown with patent-holder NTP Inc. rather than the last-minute settlement most analysts expect.

In an unusual move pointing to the case's high stakes, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it plans to fast-track its re-examination of five NTP patents that a U.S. District Court in Virginia in 2002 found were infringed...